Predictability of Discrimination Coefficient and Difficulty Index of Psychiatry Multiple-Choice Questions

Background: Multiple-choice questions are among the most common written tests. This study aimed to evaluate the faculty members’ability to determine and predict the level of difficulty and discrimination coefficient of multiple-choice tests at Psychiatry Department. Methods: All faculty members at Psychiatry Department of Iran University of Medical Sciences participated in this study. The difficulty and discrimination coefficient of all questions (150 questions) of the mid-term exam of psychiatric residents were measured with both software program and formulas by hand. Then, from each group of questions with high, medium, and low difficulty coefficient, 10 questions (30 questions in total) were selected and provided to faculty members for ranking each question in terms of difficulty and discrimination coefficient. Finally, the correlation between faculty members’ evaluation and standard results was measured by the Spearman’s correlation. To calculate the discrimination coefficient, the number of people who answered a question correctly in the low-score group was subtracted from the high-score group and then the result was divided by the number of people in a group. Results: Twenty-five faculty members participated in this study. There was a significant negative correlation between difficulty level and discrimination coefficient in the whole group (r=-0.196, p=0.045), but this was not the case in the upper and lower groups (r=-0.063, p=0.733). In addition, the correlation between the discrimination coefficient obtained from the formula and the average discrimination coefficient of faculty members was not significant (r=-0.047, p=0.803). Conclusion: It seems that the ability of faculty members to predict the discrimination coefficient and difficulty level of questions is not sufficient.

ANALYSIS OF ECOLOGICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL INDICES FOR PLANTS OF THE SPECIES POTENTILLA TANACETIFOLIA GROWING IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE CITY OF CHITA AND THE CHITA REGION

The use of biogeochemical research methods is necessary when studying the technogenic migration of toxic elements in urban ecosystems. Using the values of the ecological and geochemical indices, we assessed the degree of accumulation and movement of zinc, lead, cadmium, and copper from the soil to the organs of plants of the species Potentilla tanacetifolia. The content of elements was determined by the method of inverse voltammetry on a «TA-Universal» analyzer. According to the results of the studies and the values of environmental and geochemical coefficients, it was found that, according to the level of soil pollution, the studied areas of the city of Chita and the Chita region were classified as territories with a low level of pollution. According to the values of ecological and geochemical indices for plants of the P. tanacetifolia species, intense absorption of cadmium by the root system and active movement of zinc and copper from the root layer of soils were noted. The translocation coefficient (TF) values indicated the intake of copper, lead, and cadmium into the aboveground organs in almost all the studied sites. According to the value of the discrimination coefficient, it was found that this species intensively accumulates cadmium. The results presented by us indicate that plants of the P. tanacetifolia species can be attributed to accumulator species with a rather high degree of accumulation of heavy metals at a low concentration in the medium.

Diseño y validación de una escala para evaluar el funcionamiento de las tutorías en Educación Secundaria

El desarrollo de la función tutorial es clave para la formación integral de los estudiantes. En los últimos años las investigaciones sobre este tema se centran en la educación superior relegando a segundo plano su desarrollo en la educación básica. En este sentido, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo diseñar y validar un instrumento de medida sobre la valoración de las tutorías en Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Posobligatoria, fundamentado teóricamente, que reúna las características psicométricas exigidas: fiabilidad, homogeneidad de los ítems y validez. La muestra del estudio está compuesta por 4254 estudiantes de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Postobligatoria correspondientes a los diferentes tipos de centros educativos de la Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (CAM). A raíz de la literatura consultada y la experiencia profesional se consideraron cuatro dimensiones sobre la práctica tutorial donde se analizó la fiabilidad (Alfa de Cronbach total del instrumento: 0.929, y por dimensiones, Funciones con el alumnado: 0.868; Funciones con las familias: 0.649; Desarrollo: 0.797; Evaluación: 0.876), los valores del coeficiente de discriminación de los ítems (datos superiores a 0.2, según Hair et al., 2014) y el Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio (χ2/gl= 0.0254; CFI= 0.940; RMSEA: 0.044; PRATIO=0.894) obteniendo resultados satisfactorios. Por todo ello, el instrumento propuesto contribuye al estudio de las tutorías, tanto desde un punto de vista teórico como por sus características psicométricas relativas a su fiabilidad y validez. De igual modo, el instrumento se constituye como una herramienta de utilidad en el desarrollo de las tutorías, atendiendo las demandas y necesidades de sus estudiantes. The development of the tutorial function development is the key for an integral formation of the students. In recent years, research on this topic has been focused on higher education, relegating to a second place its development in basic education. In this sense, the objective of this work is to design and validate a measuring instrument for the assessment of tutorials in Obligatory and Post-obligatory Secondary Education, supported theoretically, that finds the required psychometric characteristics: reliability, homogeneity of the items and validity. The study sample is made up of 4254 students of Compulsory and Post-compulsory Secondary Education corresponding to different types of educational centers in Autonomous Community of Madrid (CAM). As a result of the literature consulted and the professional experience, four dimensions were considered on the tutorial practice where the reliability was analyzed (Alfa of Cronbach total of the instrument: 0.929, and by dimensions, Functions with the students: 0.868; Functions with the families: 0.649; Development: 0.797; Evaluation: 0.876), the values of the discrimination coefficient of the items (data superior to 0.2, according to Hair et al. 2014) and the Confirmatory Factorial Analysis (χ2/gl= 0.0254; CFI=0.940; RMSEA: 0.044; PRATIO=0.894) obtaining satisfactory results. For all these reasons, the proposed instrument contributes to the study of tutorials, both from a theoretical point of view and because of their psychometric characteristics relative to their reliability and validity. Similarly, the instrument constitutes a useful tool in the development of tutorials, meeting the students’ demands and needs.

Post exam item analysis: Implication for intervention

Post exam item analysis enables teachers to reduce biases on student achievement assessments and improve their way of instruction. Difficulty indices, discrimination power and distracter efficiencies were commonly investigated in item analysis. This research was intended to investigate the difficulty and discrimination indices, distracters efficiency, whole test reliability and construct defects in summative test for freshman common course at Gondar CTE. In this study, 176 exam papers were analyzed in terms of difficulty index, point bi-serial correlation and distracter efficiencies. Internal consistency reliability and construct defects such as meaningless stems, punctuation errors and inconsistencies in option formats were also investigated. Results revealed that the summative test as a whole has moderate difficulty level (0.56 ± 0.20) and good distracter efficiency (85.71% ± 29%). However, the exam was poor in terms of discrimination power (0.16 ± 0.28) and internal consistency reliability (KR-20 = 0.58). Only one item has good discrimination power and one more item excellent in its discrimination. About 41.9% of the items were either too easy or too difficult. Inconsistency in option formats or inappropriate options, punctuation errors and meaningless stems were also observed. Thus, future test development interventions should give due emphasis on item reliability, discrimination coefficient and item construct defects.

Access to Formal Credit in the Indian Agriculture: Does Caste matter?

Access to resources and opportunities can be a critical factor in improving outcomes for disadvantaged groups. Improving access to financial resources, in particular, is widely acknowledged to facilitate upward economic and social mobility. Conversely, lack of access to resources for certain groups based on caste, class, gender and ethno-social identities can perpetuate inequalities. In this context, this paper attempts to analyse the access to credit by social groups and decomposes the gross credit differentials using Oaxaca-blinder decomposition method using unit-level data from the All India Debt and Investment Survey, NSSO, 2013. The descriptive analysis clearly shows that there is a significant credit differential between forward caste (FC) and other social groups (SC, ST and OBC). Access to credit varies across social groups based on many factors. The decomposition result indicates that the discrimination coefficient against SC is 49per cent which explains that SCs are being discriminated by 49 per cent compared to FCs in the formal credit market. In case of ST, the discrimination coefficient against is 61per cent and for OBC it is 48per cent. Interestingly, the endowment difference is less among ST (38per cent) compared to SC and OBC (around 51 per cent). Also, the FC treatment advantage (benefit of being a FC in the credit market) is 5.7 per cent whereas the cost of being an SC in the credit market (treatment disadvantage) is 35.1 per cent. As expected, the disadvantage component for ST and OBC is 33.1 per cent and 17.8 per cent respectively. Thus, we see that although programmes, schemes and policies to promote the economic empowerment of lower castes through finance have been implemented on a large scale since the 1990s, they have not been very effective.

The Effect of the place mat Strategy in the collection of geographical material and the development of deductive thinking among the average first-grade students skills

The present research aims at identifying the effect of the mat place a strategy to collect geographical material and the development of deductive thinking among the average first-grade students the skills of ID, the study sample consisted of (72) students distributed into two groups by 35 students in the experimental group which studied the use of mat strategic location and ( 37) students in the control group who studied the same material in the traditional manner, rewarded researcher between the two sets of search variables (prior knowledge, IQ test, chronological age, test inferential thinking) promising researcher Uday achievement test consisting of (50) ) Items of multiple choice and make sure his sincerity and persistence and characteristics psychometric and adopted Ready thinking deductive prepared Scale (Obeidi, 2010), and used statistical methods (Altaia test for two independent samples, the difficulty factor, discrimination coefficient, Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman correlation - coefficient Brown), the study found to outweigh the experimental group students on the control group students in achievement test and test deductive reasoning.

Are Faculty Members of Paramedics Able to Designed Accurate Multiple Choice Questions?

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Multiple choice questions (MCQ) are one of the assessment instruments in medical sciences. The overall aim of this study was to perform qualitative and quantitative analysis of the multiple choice question MCQ provided by the professors of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences-Faculty of Medicine in the academic year 2011-2012.MATERIALS & METHODS: In this descriptive-analytic study, 37 tests of the Faculty of Medicine were analyzed. Quantitative data included difficulty coefficient, discrimination coefficient, whole credibility test, standard deviation of the questions, and the qualitative data consisted of taxonomic percent I, II and III, percentage of questions with no structural problems. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20.00 while T-test and chi-square test were applied.RESULTS: The average validity coefficient of the total tests (KR-20) was measured as 0.63, the average difficulty coefficient as 0.58, the average discrimination coefficient as 0.19. The average percentage of the questions without structural problems as 37.1%; all of which were in the acceptable range. The mean Taxonomy I percentage of the questions was38.36% (±11.31), Taxonomy II percentage of the questions was 42.46% (±15.51) with no significant difference in the entire tests. Average percentage of questions with taxonomy III was 20.73% (±12.83) for which independent t-test showed significant difference in the total tests (P=0.00). Average percentage of questions without structural problems was measured as 55.23% (±13.23) for which there was a significant difference in the total tests when independent t-test was used (P=0.041).CONCLUSION: Considering the average validity of the whole test, the mean difficulty coefficient and Taxonomy indexes I, II and III, the tests designed by the professors of the Faculty of Allied Science are within an a acceptable standard range.

Development and Validation of a Measuring Instrument for Burnout Syndrome in Teachers

This paper is part of a research done on Burnout Syndrome, and its objective is to develop and validate an instrument for measuring the syndrome in Secondary School teachers, taking as a principal starting point Maslach, Schaufeli, and Leiter's theory (2001). After developing and testing the instrument on a sample of 794 teachers in the Community of Madrid (Spain), we analyzed the reliability, content and construct validity (the latter by means of Structural Equations Models implemented with Software AMOS 7.0). The reliability analysis (α = .911 for the total instrument; .849, .899 and .674 for the dimensions of Exhaustion, Reduced Personal Accomplishment and Depersonalization respectively) and the Confirmatory Factorial Analysis (CMIN/DF = 4.163, CFI = .904, RMSEA = .60, PRATIO = .874) showed highly satisfactory results. The discrimination coefficient scores for items in the final instrument ranged between .22 and .74. Thus, the instrument presented combines the necessary technical characteristics for it to be considered a valid and reliable tool for measuring the syndrome.

Examination of the Quality of Multiple-choice Items on Classroom Tests

Because multiple-choice testing is so widespread in higher education, we assessed the quality of items used on classroom tests by carrying out a statistical item analysis. We examined undergraduates’ responses to 1198 multiple-choice items on sixteen classroom tests in various disciplines. The mean item discrimination coefficient was +0.25, with more than 30% of items having unsatisfactory coefficients less than +0.20. Of the 3819 distractors, 45% were flawed either because less than 5% of examinees selected them or because their selection was positively rather than negatively correlated with test scores. In three tests, more than 40% of the items had an unsatisfactory discrimination coefficient, and in six tests, more than half of the distractors were flawed. Discriminatory power suffered dramatically when the selection of one or more distractors was positively correlated with test scores, but it was only minimally affected by the presence of distractors that were selected by less than 5% of examinees. Our findings indicate that there is considerable room for improvement in the quality of many multiple-choice tests. We suggest that instructors consider improving the quality of their multiple-choice tests by conducting an item analysis and by modifying distractors that impair the discriminatory power of items. Étant donné que les examens à choix multiple sont tellement généralisés dans l’enseignement supérieur, nous avons effectué une analyse statistique des items utilisés dans les examens en classe afin d’en évaluer la qualité. Nous avons analysé les réponses des étudiants de premier cycle à 1198 questions à choix multiples dans 16 examens effectués en classe dans diverses disciplines. Le coefficient moyen de discrimination de l’item était +0.25. Plus de 30 % des items avaient des coefficients insatisfaisants inférieurs à + 0.20. Sur les 3819 distracteurs, 45 % étaient imparfaits parce que moins de 5 % des étudiants les ont choisis ou à cause d’une corrélation négative plutôt que positive avec les résultats des examens. Dans trois examens, le coefficient de discrimination de plus de 40 % des items était insatisfaisant et dans six examens, plus de la moitié des distracteurs était imparfaits. Le pouvoir de discrimination était considérablement affecté en cas de corrélation positive entre un distracteur ou plus et les résultatsde l’examen, mais la présence de distracteurs choisis par moins de 5 % des étudiants avait une influence minime sur ce pouvoir. Nos résultats indiquent que les examens à choix multiple peuvent être considérablement améliorés. Nous suggérons que les enseignants procèdent à une analyse des items et modifient les distracteurs qui compromettent le pouvoir de discrimination des items.